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Employee Outsmarts Company With Their Own Rules When He Increases His Pay By 50% After They Refused To Do It
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Employee Outsmarts Company With Their Own Rules When He Increases His Pay By 50% After They Refused To Do It

Employee Outsmarts Company With Their Own Rules When He Increases His Pay By 50% After They Refused To Do ItEmployee Was Offered A Promotion Without A Raise, Used Company Rules To Give Himself A 50% Pay Bump“Promote Me But Won’t Bump Up My Hourly Wage? Sure Thing, I’ll Just Use Your Rules To Give Myself A 50% Pay Bump”Employee Uses A Loophole To Give Himself A 50% Pay Bump After He Didn't Get A RaiseCompany Promotes This Employee But Doesn't Give Him A Raise, He Figures Out A Way To Give Himself A 50% Pay BumpWorker Uses Company Rules Against Them To Get Paid Extra After They Refuse To Raise His SalaryCompany Promoted Employee Without Bumping Up Their Hourly Wage, Worker Used Their Rules Against Them To Get A Raise
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Initiating a conversation about your salary is not the most pleasant experience out there. Your palms are sweaty, your hands are shaky, all while you summon the courage to talk to your manager about a bigger paycheck. But when they offer you a substantial promotion, receiving a raise for your efforts would be a no-brainer, right? Well, that’s not always the case.

Recently, user InterestedObserver20 made a post on the Malicious Compliance subreddit about his quest for increasing his wage. You see, the company he worked for at the time gave him a no-raise promotion because there simply wasn’t enough budget for it. However, when you take on greater responsibilities, you just feel like you deserve it.

That’s why the author decided to comb through the company’s regulations and his contract to see if the employer might have missed something. And they certainly did. The user used their rules against them to get a 50% pay bump. Read on to find out how he did it.

Recently, this employee shared how a company offered him a promotion but didn’t have any budget to increase his wage

Image credits: Ryan Porter (not an actual photo)

So the worker decided to use their rules against them to get a 50% pay bump

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Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not an actual photo)

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Christine Mitterbauer, a licensed and ICF-approved career coach based in the UK, told Bored Panda that getting a promotion without a raise isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “It should be seen as an opportunity rather than a meaningless gesture,” she explained. “There are a few things you could do to make this promotion work even more in your favor.”

It seems that a climb like this one “does not automatically mean the worker isn’t appreciated by their employer (although in some cases this might be the case).” But before you draw any conclusions, Christine suggested some active approaches you could take.

“First of all, to many people, being genuinely recognized for their effort and hard work is at least as (if not more) important than just getting more money. The fact that you’ve gotten this promotion also puts you in better standing when looking for other jobs, and strengthens your visibility and confidence when networking and considering your future options, even if you have no plans of making any changes at the moment.”

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Later on, the author provided some more details in the comments

However, if you feel that you rightfully deserve to receive a bigger paycheck, Christine mentioned that one proactive thing you can do is to negotiate a raise anyway. “Prepare for this conversation as quickly as possible, and come armed with information such as what others are being paid in similar roles. After all, if you left the role, the company would have to pay around that amount to hire someone new,” she said.

“If it turns out more money isn’t an option, then think about which other benefits would make you happier; more flexible working hours, more personal time, or maybe more training and development.”

If your employer is not willing to give a pay rise at this moment, another thing you could try “is to get them to commit to a pay rise in the near future. You could discuss hitting certain measurable goals in the coming months, and try to get them to agree to the pay rise if you hit all your targets,” the career coach advised, saying you should add dates and precise numbers to make your achievement more credible once the time comes.

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So while getting no-raise promotions might make you feel more disappointed than excited, don’t forget that it’s often possible to turn things around. “Stay positive and remember it’s up to you to make as much of this situation as possible. Be creative, appreciative, and work with what you get,” Christine concluded.

Here’s how Redditors reacted to this whole situation

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Ieva Gailiūtė

Ieva Gailiūtė

Writer, Community member

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Ieva is a writer at Bored Panda who graduated in Scandinavian studies from Vilnius University. After learning the Swedish language and getting completely lost in the world of Scandinavian mythology, she figured out that translating and writing is what she's passionate about. When not writing, Ieva enjoys making jewelry, going on hikes, reading and drinking coffee.

Read less »
Ieva Gailiūtė

Ieva Gailiūtė

Writer, Community member

Ieva is a writer at Bored Panda who graduated in Scandinavian studies from Vilnius University. After learning the Swedish language and getting completely lost in the world of Scandinavian mythology, she figured out that translating and writing is what she's passionate about. When not writing, Ieva enjoys making jewelry, going on hikes, reading and drinking coffee.

Kotryna Br

Kotryna Br

Author, BoredPanda staff

Read more »

Kotryna is a Photo Editor at Bored Panda with a BA in Graphic Design. Before Bored Panda, she worked as a freelance graphic designer and illiustrator. When not editing, she enjoys working with clay, drawing, playing board games and drinking good tea.

Read less »

Kotryna Br

Kotryna Br

Author, BoredPanda staff

Kotryna is a Photo Editor at Bored Panda with a BA in Graphic Design. Before Bored Panda, she worked as a freelance graphic designer and illiustrator. When not editing, she enjoys working with clay, drawing, playing board games and drinking good tea.

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Full English
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I worked for a US company in the UK for a short time they pointed out that the recognition of a promotion should be enough in itself for employee satisfaction. I realised this satisfaction did not help pay my bills and so I left.

Nimryl 1989
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I worked for a global manufacturer in the USA. I was yelled at and told I didn't deserve to get promoted. But did all the work of a manager. It turned into a very nasty shouting match between my boss and me. I thought would come to blows. I've heard of CEOs and executives throwing things at people. It just wasn't going to happen to me. This company broke many rules when addressing diversity and inclusion. But people didn't speak up and when that happens things stay the same. So, he finally said, ok, he would promote but I would not get any money. I said I don't care. I will get the money later, so I got the promotion and he got fired— I was the first black female manager in a company over 200 years old. And yes about a year later, I got the money plus bonuses.

Robin Boyles
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wasn't able to figure out which company this is... honestly it's probably true of most if not all of them.

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T. D. Bostick
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wouldn't he actually be entitled to both a pay raise and the extra bonus for the commute?

No you can't have my name
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Judging from the post, a raise would mean a contract renegotiation. That would be the time for them to go "oh btw you're officially reassigned to Spot B instead of Spot A" so by their own company rules Spot B would be his main work location. Reassigning him to Spot B from Spot A would mean that he wouldn't be able to claim the commute time anymore because Spot B would be the spot he was contracted to work at. Basically, no. Because if the contract was done to negotiate the raise they'd change his primary work location.

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Full English
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I worked for a US company in the UK for a short time they pointed out that the recognition of a promotion should be enough in itself for employee satisfaction. I realised this satisfaction did not help pay my bills and so I left.

Nimryl 1989
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I worked for a global manufacturer in the USA. I was yelled at and told I didn't deserve to get promoted. But did all the work of a manager. It turned into a very nasty shouting match between my boss and me. I thought would come to blows. I've heard of CEOs and executives throwing things at people. It just wasn't going to happen to me. This company broke many rules when addressing diversity and inclusion. But people didn't speak up and when that happens things stay the same. So, he finally said, ok, he would promote but I would not get any money. I said I don't care. I will get the money later, so I got the promotion and he got fired— I was the first black female manager in a company over 200 years old. And yes about a year later, I got the money plus bonuses.

Robin Boyles
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wasn't able to figure out which company this is... honestly it's probably true of most if not all of them.

Load More Replies...
T. D. Bostick
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wouldn't he actually be entitled to both a pay raise and the extra bonus for the commute?

No you can't have my name
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Judging from the post, a raise would mean a contract renegotiation. That would be the time for them to go "oh btw you're officially reassigned to Spot B instead of Spot A" so by their own company rules Spot B would be his main work location. Reassigning him to Spot B from Spot A would mean that he wouldn't be able to claim the commute time anymore because Spot B would be the spot he was contracted to work at. Basically, no. Because if the contract was done to negotiate the raise they'd change his primary work location.

Load More Replies...
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